Foreign Departures; Passports Issued, 1925–29

The annual return of the vacation season finds Americans again a wheel and afloat at home and abroad. Like the two gentlemen of Verona who “went forth to see the wonders of the world instead of remaining dully sluggarded at home,” millions of Americans are planning tours, short and long, during the 1930 holiday season that will take them to all parts of the United States and to many foreign lands. These tours and the expenditures made by the tourists will have an important influence upon the balance of international trade and will create a huge volume of business for the agencies and interests that thrive upon the domestic tourist traffic. It is predicted that a larger number of persons will travel at home and abroad in 1930 and will spend more money than in any previous year. This report will present such evidence as is available upon the extent and character of the American tourist traffic and the volume of expenditure it entails.

Volume of Foreign Tourist Traffic

The number of American citizens leaving the United States for foreign lands is reported annually by the Bureau of Immigration, Department of Labor, and the number of passports issued is reported by the Department of State.

Year

Foreign departures of American citizens

Passports issued to American citizens

1925

356,155

172,209

1926

367,739

176,033

1927

405,989

182,425

1928

451,972

189,308

1929

452,658

196,930

It will be seen that during the last five years “foreign departures of American citizens” have increased by nearly 100,000 (27.1 per cent) and that the number of passports issued to American citizens for foreign travel was nearly 25,000 (14.3 per cent) larger in 1929 than in 1925.